Career and job-search news, trends, and scoops for job-seekers, compiled by the staff of Quintessential Careers.

The U.S. Labor Department announced today that regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in July.

According to the report, 18 states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate decreases from the previous month, while 14 states registered rate increases; 18 states had no change.

In terms of changes from a year ago, 27 states and the District of Columbia reported unemployment rate decreases, 20 states posted increases, and 3 states had no change.

July’s report was slightly worse than June’s, when unemployment rates declined in more than half of all states for a third straight month — and only five states saw unemployment rate increases.

Nevada again reported the highest unemployment rate among the states at 14.3 percent in July. The states with the next highest rates were Michigan, at 13.1 percent, and California, 12.3 percent.

North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate — at 3.6 percent, followed by South Dakota and Nebraska, at 4.4 and 4.7 percent, respectively.

Regionally, the West reported the highest unemployment rate in July at 10.8 percent, while the Northeast recorded the lowest rate, at 8.8 percent.

August 6, 2010

As U.S. economy sputters along, so, unfortunately, does the hiring. The good news is that employers did hire in July — just weakly.

The Labor Department announced today that private employers added 71,000 jobs last month, but when combined with a big loss in local and state government jobs, the result was only a net gain of 12,000 jobs.

May and June employment numbers were also revised, with June employment numbers getting smaller while May hiring went higher. June’s private-sector job gains were changed to 31,000 from 83,000, while May’s gains were revised to show 51,000 net new jobs, up from 33,000.

We continue to struggle to regain the millions of jobs lost in 2008 and 2009, but the trend — however slow and sputtering — is encouraging. A total of 8.4 million jobs were lost in the recession, and so far in 2010, a little more than half a million jobs have been added.

The nation’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5 percent.

As has been the case over the past two an da half years, persistence and smart job-hunting will eventually lead to new employment, but the time-frame can be daunting and the struggle frightening.

On a side note, Quintessential Careers is happy to once again get this blog up and rolling again after a lengthy relocation from Florida to Washington that resulted in some cutbacks in our services while we completed the move — and construction — to our new offices.

The Career Doctor Blog, a blog from another part of the QuintCareers Network, where each day our own Career Doctor Randall Hansen answers one career, job, college, or workplace question.

and reassurance.

The Occupational Adventure Blog, from Curt Rosengren, a Passion Catalyst. Curt’s older blog is great for finding encouraging ideas (and resources) for moving forward with your career… a career that lights your fire. His newer blog is the Passion Catalyst — about loving your work.

Blue Sky Resumes Blog, from career expert Louise Fletcher, a general career and job-search blog that covers all aspects of the job-hunt.

WorkStrong — a candid, completely honest discussion of the job market — offering information and advice about what it takes to succeed in the 21st Century world of work. From career and recruitment guru Peter W ddle.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers, one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of Quintessential Careers Press, including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter, QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He’s often quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his personal Website or reach him by email at randall@quintcareers.com. Check out Dr. Hansen on GooglePlus.